I've been in Madrid for a few days now and I'm loving it. It's really intense because (surprise) everyone speaks Spanish here. My trip to Italy was AMAZING. My grandparents and I were talking about how every year since I was really little I've been asking "can I go with you next year?" This year was finally my year and it was awesome. I got to meet a ton of Italian relatives, all of whom were sooo nice. They we're all very welcoming and took us around to see many of the wonderful sights of southern Italy. The very first thing we did when I arrived (after about 20 straight hours of travel) was go to the car dealership that one of my Italian family members owns. And because it's Italy, we were able to see the prize winning Lamborghini. It was hilarious to see my grandparents sitting in it so I took tons of pictures. Aren't they cute?
After I had slept off my Jet lag for 12 hours, I was ready to begin my first full day in Italy. My Grandparents, one of the relatives we were staying with, and I drive up to the top off the mountain they live to check out Italy from above. Southern Italy is trying to make overcome years of poverty through manufacturing alternative fuel sources. When we got to the top of the mountain, all you could see for miles and miles were huge wind mills. When you actually see it in person it's a really impressive sight. The windmills are HUGE and it's awesome to think about how much natural energy they're capturing. We were also able to go to a small lake where the Napolitanos like like to go to get away from the city on a Saturday or Sunday. That afternoon we went to the nearest city to where we were staying, Benevento. It's a really old, very beautiful city where some of the buildings were built BC. We got to check out the local museum, which had some really great Roman and Egyptian artifacts as well as some more modern sculpters and paintings. This was one of my favorites. What a face! We also saw the Arch of Tryan, an ancient Roman emporer.Alright, that's all I've got for tonight. I'm going to hit the sack becasue one of my classes starts tomorrow. More to come on my trip to Italy and of course the begining of my year in Spain.
I arrived in Spain last Monday evening. The rest of my study abroad group wasn't due to arrive until the next morning, so I was the only non-Spanish speaker in the entire building that night. For the first two weeks that we're here, we're staying at a dorm on the Universidad de Madrid campus.It’s pretty nice and I have a great view from my window.I can see the three tallest buildings in Madrid.
I don’t know what this building is, but I think it’s really pretty so I took a picture of it too.
There are probably 20-30 Spanish students here for summer classes. Originally my plan was to lock myself in my room the first night I was here and not come out until the rest of my group arrived. Hunger got in the way of that plan however, so I ventured down to dinner at 10:00pm. If walking into a cafeteria full of people you don't know by yourself is a scary thought for you, imagine doing that AND being barely able to speak the language. I sat down with a group of engineering students and managed to make it through dinner. I don't think I've ever said the word "what" (or "qué," I suppose) so many times in a conversation. Before I left for Spain, I was pretty confident in my Spanish speaking abilities, but it amazing how much harder it is once you get here. I just keep hoping I’ll wake up and speak fluent Spanish, but I doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Lesson learned: guess I’ll have to work a little bit harder than I though to make this Spanish thing happen. I’m okay with that, though.That’s what I’m here for!Luckily, the rest of my groups arrived the next morning.I hadn’t met any of them prior to leaving since they all go to Marquette, but they’re really nice and we’ve been getting along really well.We’ve gone to see the Parque de Buen Retiro together.It’s the Central Park of Madrid.The main attraction is the huge pond.
Behind the pond is a monument to King Alfonso XII. I’m not really sure what this guy did to get this monument, but props to him because it is seriously amazing. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
I’ve also been able to meet my soon-to-be host family, although we’re still in the dorms for another week. My family consists of Isabel, Javier and their two kids, Silvia (9) and Victor (2). I wasn’t able to meet the mom when I went because she was at work, but I met the rest of the family plus a grandma, two aunts, three uncles and a cousin. I’m glad I’m living with a family that’s so involved, but I’m also REALLY nervous. I had an incredibly hard time understanding the little girl because she talks a mile a minute.The dad is a fast talker too, but slows down when he remembers. All three of the uncles are married to Americans, and it was really nice to have one of them there because she knew exactly what we (one of the other students in my group is living with the grandma, so she was there, too) were going through.I’m excited/ nervous for my move-in date next weekend.I know that my Spanish will improve drastically once I move, so I’m trying to focus on that and not on the fact that I can’t comprehend these people when they speak to me.Yikes!
I never thought I'd be a "blogger" but this seems like the best way to keep everyone up-to-date on my life in Spain, without flooding your inbox with unwanted mass emails. The clock is ticking and I've got about 36 hours until I leave for my year abroad, so I'm frantically trying to get all my last minute stuff done. Mom and Dad are dropping Melanie off in New Orleans for her freshmen year at Tulane right now. Since they flew down, Melanie has most of what she needs for the year in their combined six suitcases. Unfortunately for me, two of the six are the suitcases I'm bringing to Spain. So, in theory I'm packed, but what that really means is everything I'm bringing for the year is in a big pile on my floor waiting to be packed and looking menacingly close to the airline weight limit...
I fly out of Detroit tomorrow afternoon and land in Rome bright and early on Tuesday. From there I'm hopping on a train and heading down to southern Italy to meet up with my grandma and grandpa. We'll be staying with relatives who live in tiny hilltop villages, so it should be quite a change from Chicago and Toledo. After six days in Italy I'm off to my final destination. This is the event I've been looking forward to most since I was was in first or second grade, so needless to say, I can't wait to get there!!!!
Aren't they cute?
When you actually see it in person it's a really impressive sight. The windmills are HUGE and it's awesome to think about how much natural energy they're capturing.
We were also able to go to a small lake where the Napolitanos like like to go to get away from the city on a Saturday or Sunday. That afternoon we went to the nearest city to where we were staying, Benevento. It's a really old, very beautiful city where some of the buildings were built BC.
We got to check out the local museum, which had some really great Roman and Egyptian artifacts as well as some more modern sculpters and paintings. This was one of my favorites. What a face!
We also saw the Arch of Tryan, an ancient Roman emporer.
Alright, that's all I've got for tonight. I'm going to hit the sack becasue one of my classes starts tomorrow. More to come on my trip to Italy and of course the begining of my year in Spain.
